Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc One Step of SANTANA, BILL EVANS TRIO, etc.*

Simple answer. I didn't have an interest in buying the One-Step LP sets till I broke out my turntable. I started reading about the One-Step LP sets with the release of SRV's Texas Flood. Of course by then all but Texas Flood were no longer available from sellers like Music Direct and MOFI. I ordered Texas Flood and Portrait In Jazz direct from Music Direct.

So for myself and all of those that missed the earlier One-Step releases and bought them from resellers are at fault when there's issues with our unopened sets? I find it interesting that you assign blame without even taking the time to ask why I bought the One-Step LP sets from resellers in the first place.

My current turntable and cartridge are over 35 years old. There is no way I would play any of the One-Step LP sets with it. I'm picking up a Thorens TD-145 with a new cartridge from Vinyl Nirvana today. So I'll be able to play Texas Flood without fear of damaging the vinyl. I'll compare Texas Flood to the APO SACD that so far is the best sounding version I've heard. Then I'll decide if I want to unseal all the other One-Step sets. Hopefully that's alright with you or am I doing something else wrong?

MFSL did a great job with the sound on this release. However, the price is getting to the point, for me personally, where I probably will not be getting anymore of these except for albums that truly are must have favorites of mine.

Hmmm...this is a very exciting thread. I have the Fagen and Marvin and whereas I had a small scratch on the Fagen I could barely hear so I'm very happy with the SQ. I live in Sweden and have a friend family (not vinyl lovers) in Illinois and sometimes order to them for the sake of shipping cost. Then I collect typically every 2 year or so. But this release make me nervous - especially since customers had Stevie Ray Vaughan on one side of this box set. I cannot check this from here. Maybe I will have my friends check but they have no TT but maybe the Matrix info is sufficient? 005 instead of 009 would give it away right?

No SRV thankfully. The scuffing is so bad, it makes my sleeves look used-really bad. I’ll forgive ‘em if the sound lives up to my other One Step titles titles(which didn’t suffer as badly with the scuffing).

I feel quite a bit better about this version of Portrait in Jazz today after listening to the second disk. It still required a fair amount of meticulous brushing even after a wet clean, but I knew to expect that, and this time the disk was flat. It seemed to be well-centered as well, and the surfaces were indeed pristinely silent.

Sonically, I expect it is probably the best this title will ever sound, though the recording of the piano itself will keep it from ever being thought of as an audiophile recording. I think someone used the word "boxy" to describe the piano sound, and I guess that fits what I'm hearing. It sounds pretty good during single note runs, but when he plays chords it sounds hard and one-dimensional, almost more like an upright piano or something. I suspect it's caused by a slight overload of the mics, but I'm not sure--in any event, it doesn't seem like something that could be fixed in mastering. The bass and drums sound good, though I really wish the bass were more balanced (volume-wise) with the piano in the mix. I've only heard this album before on CD (the K2 remastering), and thought it sounded harsh and unpleasant. This is certainly an improvement over that, yet I would never use it as a demo disk.

So out of a total of 7 "premium" releases they have managed to have 2 serious mis-presses with the actual music you are supposed to receive not being present on the albums?! (BOTW and PIJ)

On top of that, a 17% price increase? I think I'm done with this series.

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Not exactly six sigma, is it. Mofi is wasting so much money and time fixing this stuff, yet they still haven't made any steps to improve the process. It's like making these One-Steps is such a windfall for them that they aren't even worried about it.

#1820. #1822,#1975 - there will be as many errant pressings as the number they limit each stamper 'convert' to. The matrix on side one with SRV (#1820) is 005A17. So where did they grab A17 from if SRV had 7500 pressed? What do they do with these stampers when they have reached their end of life? Was A17 the stamper they were keeping around to replace warranty demands, or did they pick it out of the bone pile by accident? I suspect SRV A17 was kept around for warranty repressings and it was grabbed inadvertently. If that is true, does that mean that they used 16 previous stampers to press 7500?

#1820. #1822,#1975 - there will be as many errant pressings as the number they limit each stamper 'convert' to. The matrix on side one with SRV (#1820) is 005A17. So where did they grab A17 from if SRV had 7500 pressed? What do they do with these stampers when they have reached their end of life? Was A17 the stamper they were keeping around to replace warranty demands, or did they pick it out of the bone pile by accident? I suspect SRV A17 was kept around for warranty repressings and it was grabbed inadvertently. If that is true, does that mean that they used 16 previous stampers to press 7500?

I know some people are preferring AP's UHQR box relative to the Mofi One-Steps... I agree with their points on the ease of access and the inclusion of the gatefold sleeve, but I personally prefer the outer aesthetic of the One-Step boxes. The gold band across the top, the typography, it feels more timeless and classy than the AP design.

That said- the box, being totally unnecessary when a nice gatefold would do, could be about half as thick as it is without really altering the design. The other Mofi boxes (Rickie Lee Jones, Kind of Blue, etc) are just as unnecessary and annoying to open but are much sleeker and hold the same volume of actual content, not counting foam. Blonde on Blonde even holds 3 LPs in that smaller box.

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I don’t like either the One-Step or UHQR boxes. They’re just useless trinkets eating up precious real estate as far as I’m concerned.

I'm really on the fence about opening PIJ. I just automatically preordered it and I'm not a huge fan of it. If it was a show off audiophile recording I might be inclined to keep it but my bank account is reeling and an open copy won't really be worth all that much as far as it gaining value. But if I leave it sealed I would feel bad if I or someone else decided to open it and couldn't remedy a defect. Maybe I should return it. It's not like I have to collect them all. I passed on SRV and missed Abraxas so it's not essential like I'm completing a set.

I'm really on the fence about opening PIJ. I just automatically preordered it and I'm not a huge fan of it. If it was a show off audiophile recording I might be inclined to keep it but my bank account is reeling and an open copy won't really be worth all that much as far as it gaining value. But if I leave it sealed I would feel bad if I or someone else decided to open it and couldn't remedy a defect. Maybe I should return it. It's not like I have to collect them all. I passed on SRV and missed Abraxas so it's not essential like I'm completing a set.

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I’d try to sell it opened above retail price in the classifieds on this forum. That way, people will know that they’re paying a premium to make sure that the records are correct, something that buyers on the forum like to do.

I’d try to sell it opened above retail price in the classifieds on this forum. That way, people will know that they’re paying a premium to make sure that the records are correct, something that buyers on the forum like to do.

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Yes you're right. I had to do the same with BOTW, the only one of which I bought two, because I felt that a knowledgeable buyer who would want it to play would appreciate it being checked and perfect rather than take a gamble.